December 2016 – Learning English and Japanese

Toru Dec 31, 2016Jan 03, 2024 etymology, Japanese events, Lang-8, misoka, new year's eve, omisoka, traditional, tsugomori, tsuki-gomori

Omisoka (New Year’s Eve)

Omisoka 大晦日 Today is 大晦日 (omisoka), which means new year’s eve. 今日は大晦日です。 “晦日 (misoka)” was originally written as “三十日 (misoka)”, Read More

Culture Essay Etymology History Idiom Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Dec 30, 2016Jan 03, 2024 body, China, consciousness, Edo period, emotions, guilts, idiom, insects, mushi no shirase, Taoism

Mushi no Shirase (Word of Insects)

Mushi no Shirase 虫の知らせ Today I will talk about the idiom “mushi no shirase”, the literal meaning of which is Read More

Culture Diary Etymology Food History Idiom Japanese tradition Proverb Uncorrected

Toru Dec 29, 2016Jan 03, 2024 Chinese, draw, e ni kaita mochi, etymology, mochi, mochitsuki, proverb, realize, Sangokushi, useless

E ni Kaita Mochi (A Rice Cake Drawn in a Picture)

E ni Kaita Mochi 絵に描いた餅 Yesterday I wrote about “mochitsuki” (rice cake pounding). 昨日は「餅つき」について書きました。 Today I will talk about the Read More

Culture Diary Food Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Dec 28, 2016Jan 03, 2024 mochi, mochitsuki, mortar, New Year, pestle, physical strength, professor, rice cake pounding, stamina, sticky rice cake

Mochitsuki

Today I went to a professor’s house and did mochitsuki. 餅つき The literal meaning of mochitsuki is “rice cake pounding”, Read More

Culture Essay Etymology History Idiom Japanese tradition Slang Uncorrected

Toru Dec 27, 2016Jan 03, 2024 hemp threads, hesokuri, housewife, Japanese word, mad money, saving money, secret money, sideline business, stash of money, thread winding

Hesokuri

Today I will talk about the Japanese word “hesokuri”. へそくり “Hesokuri” means saving money that is piled up economically and Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Idiom Japanese tradition Slang Uncorrected

Toru Dec 26, 2016Jan 03, 2024 expression, Japanese, literal meaning, mono no kazu, negative, problematic, special, term, usage, valuable

Mono no Kazu

Today I would like to talk about the Japanese term “mono no kazu.” 物の数 The literal meaning of “mono no Read More

Business Culture Essay History Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Dec 25, 2016Jan 03, 2024 annual event, Anti-Christian Edicts, Christmas, Edo shogunate, holiday, Japan, survey, Taisho Emperor, trivia, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Christmas and Japan

Since today is Christmas, I will talk about trivia related to Christmas. 日本とクリスマス The first Christmas (Mass of Nativity Festival) Read More

Business Culture Diary Science Uncorrected

Toru Dec 24, 2016Jan 03, 2024 Adobe Acrobat, Apple Pencil, Christmas Eve, Christmas gift, correcting, graduation theses, iPad Pro, keyboard trouble, MacBook Pro, proofreading

Christmas Gift for Myself

Today is Christmas Eve. 自分へのクリスマスプレゼント Unfortunately, there remains a work of proofreading students’ graduation theses. 今日はクリスマスイブです。 At first I was Read More

Culture Diary Food Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Dec 23, 2016Jan 03, 2024 alcohol, bonenkai, Brazilian, dance, fruits, lottery, meats, party, sushi, university

Bonenkai

Today university staffs and teachers gathered and a big year-end party called “bonenkai” was held. 忘年会 I eat delicious meats, Read More